Его не звали, но он приперся / They never called, yet he is here: Глава 9

Chapter 9

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 12:13

The ghosts of dead goblins didn't wake me up in my sleep. In fact, I didn't dream about dead people, not the living or the dead. That wasn't a bad result for the place we'd slept in. Perhaps it would be safer to try to take a nap in the den of a hungry bear than to lie down to rest in a necropolis.

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 12:33

And yet, despite the theory of probability, nothing irreparably bad happened to us, unless you count the bodies that were stiff from lying on the hard stone floor. Morning - and in a place like this, when you get up, it's morning - we greeted it quite cheerfully. Be that as it may, our company was still breathing, which meant that we still had a chance of survival. And, personally, I had the feeling that my companions, after the battle near the entrance of the dungeon, were fully confident that I could get them out of any shit. Of course, this flattered my immense ego, but I, unlike them, am well aware that I am not the biggest crocodile in this hellhole. And if it comes to another legendary monster, all I'll get the same legendary f*cking.

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 12:42

A quick breakfast, an equally quick packing, and we're good to go. I turn to the sphere again, trying to figure out a normal route that won't lead us to a dead-end, forcing us to spend the whole day just to get back to some fateful fork. We have food and water for another three or four days, and then we can either eat each other or starve to death. Neither of these options inspires me, so let's go with a song.

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 12:46

Only it is better to sing to yourself, so as not to call all the locals at the concert.

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 12:47

Not that they're such a bad audience, but I'm afraid their embrace won't please my guts.

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 12:47

With each passing minute I realize more and more, or rather, it gradually overwhelms me with the realization that this underground necropolis is really huge. Once upon a time, it was a real city, hidden in the depths of the earth. The city is reliable, made by the best engineering solutions, branched out and intricate. The clairvoyance skill went crazy, literally pouring out tons of information garbage on me. The city was neither ordinary nor metropolitan, but rather peripheral and provincial, and not the largest, but nevertheless it was, existed... and fallen.

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 12:48

This place remembered laughter and crying, tears and blood, groans and screams. I have no idea what happened here once, but the city died. Not the people of the city, or rather, not just the people, but the city itself, all that it was. The earth, the stones, the vaults and arches, the halls and corridors, the rooms and tunnels - all of it literally reeked of ashes and cold. It was as if something had escaped into reality, literally fusing with these stones, turning them into a breeding ground for a world-poisoning contagion.

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 12:50

It's a tormenting sensation that makes my whole body shiver involuntarily. Whatever is sitting somewhere at the bottom of this necropolis belongs to the category of unknown evil crap, which is better not to touch even with a three-meter stick. Just for the sake of mental health and normal functioning. I don't know what level this thing is supposed to be, but for some reason, I don't have the slightest doubt that it's not fucking small.

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 12:52

I instinctively try not even to look down with the sphere of shadows, so as not to provoke it. Now even if it knows about us (someone created a trap at the entrance), it doesn't see us yet. And it doesn't keep track of all the undead in the dungeon, or they'd start killing us off the moment we killed the first dead man. So, slowly and stealthily, we crawl toward a possible exit.

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 12:54

Smile and wave, smile and wave.

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 12:55

"Well, and what should I do about it?" The question is rather rhetorical, because, apart from me, who has the Gaze, no one can see this very education due to the lack of the necessary skills.

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 14:04

Losij and Hans looked at each other and asked, almost synchronously, without raising their voices above a barely audible whisper, as if just breathing loudly, while remaining much quieter than the indignant isekai:

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 14:05

"What do you mean?"

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 14:06

I suppress my growing irritation, realizing that I myself had decided to help these two, and now to abandon them would be at the very least not pedagogical, and in some ways inhumane.

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 14:07

"A trap, and, if I understand correctly, combined with the alarm." Explanation. "It's pretty well hidden, but the worst part is that there's nowhere near a proper passageway. Except leading downstairs. You can, of course, break through the wall in that nook we checked half an hour ago, but there would be so much noise that the thing I don't want to go down might come up and visit us."

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 14:08

Hans looked eloquently at his feet, obviously not too happy to hear about something that lived right beside us, and which even the great James Bond follower in me didn't want to wake up. The Losij was much calmer, but not so calm as to hide his slight nervousness.

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 14:14

"Any chance of passing through the signal spells, or turning them off unnoticed?" The duelist asks collectedly.

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 14:14

"In principle, I can try, but right below us, though a little to the left, there's a whole room full of undead. There aren't a lot of undead in there, but I noticed about a dozen wights, and something else that smells very deathly. I guess if we disturb the signal grid, we'll have to deal with them, too." I explain calmly, already figuring out the solutions.

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 14:18

And I realize that, as it were, there aren't any. I wouldn't take the risk of disarming the charms while there's such a powerful group of undead near us, and I couldn't guarantee that I'd be able to successfully untangle this thing. Not at my current level of trap skills.

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 14:24

The spells themselves looked like a mesh of cobwebs, slime, rot, and snot, with frequent cells covering all the entrances to the room. In some places, the enchantments were clearly a little thinner, so with my dexterity and my Gaze, I could try to squeeze through, but only on my own. The three of us were guaranteed to hit a single thread, even if I drew a path with the crayon.

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 14:26

After another hour and a half, I gave up and ordered to turn around. My skills at avoiding traps were clearly inadequate, and the undead sitting in the hidden room was starting to move in a bad way. Perhaps this was a case where normal heroes should take the detour.

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 14:29

"Okay." In response to the noise I made, both men prepared for battle. "I'm not getting around this thing, and I'm not risking another battle. Let's pack up and get out of here. It's better to spend a few hours on the way back than to get killed in an unnecessary fight."

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 14:30

It certainly didn't seem like they were both sighing in relief. And I wasn't eager to try my hand against such an opponent, either. I might be able to take out a dozen wight and some other weird shit, but to do it while covering my allies... no, it's too hard. With the composition of the enemy squad, I'd have to survive a fight like that myself.

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 14:34

So let's get out of here, gentlemen.

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 14:36

Two wights stood in columns near the gate, decayed to dust and a pile of rotten wood. It looked as if the long-dead guards were still defending the entrance to their territory. It looked rather frightening, especially when you knew that the two dead men were level thirty even.

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 15:36

Let's just say I don't want to mess with them for anything. It's trivial because I'm not sure I can take them out quietly and unnoticed. Not only the specific skills of the undead, specialized in finding the living but also the terrain itself, played for them. The extremely wide hall, with high ceilings lost in the darkness, was illuminated by a deadly pale light coming from some crystals. I couldn't help but marvel at the reliability of the local lighting system: that's what our housing and communal services could learn from.

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 15:47

All three of us are peering out of some sort of technical aisle, so we're looking up at these cunts. In theory, I could jump right at them, but something tells me that these particular dead men have their dead analogs of the danger sense. It's so easy to knock out an airborne target that they don't have to work hard.

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 15:49

On the other hand, I could just pull myself out of the path of impact thanks to the shadow, but then I'd still have to fight the damn two high-level undead at full power. And a quick elimination wouldn't even be a thing.

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 15:57

"Yeah..." All I can say is to break the nerve-wracking silence.

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 15:59

"What are you planning to do, eh, Tin?" Asked his question, Losij.

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 15:59

"Like what?" I wonder. "I'll make our way out of the gate."

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 16:00

"Hmm. You know, don't take this as an insult or disbelief, but tell me, Tin, do you have a plan?" The swordsman asks somewhat tentatively. "Because even from this distance I can sense a threat from those two."

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 16:01

"Don't worry, kid, I've got a perfect, brilliant plan." I'm being as nonchalant as possible in my tone of voice. "The best plan ever!"

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 16:03

"Be quiet, or they'll sense it, bitches." the ever-frowning Hans, interrupts my pathological monologue. "Anyway, what's your plan, if it's not a secret? Well, to support you, if anything."

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 16:08

"The plan? My plan is perfectly foolproof, infinitely cunning, and completely fucking awesome." I'm diligently adding more self-confidence to my voice. "I'm going to go in there and fuck them both up."
T.N.

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 16:09

There was nothing but silence in response, but, by Cthulhu's balls, it was an infinitely eloquent silence. It was the kind of silence that would make you call a lunatic asylum on Earth.

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 16:10

"Mm-hmm. What a plan. What are we supposed to do?"

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 18:09

"Give me some moral support."

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 18:10

"And that's it?"

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 18:10

"Well, I don't know, you can also iron your shirts, just in case."

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 18:11

I'm not listening to the answer to my quip, and I go into stealth and start approaching my opponent. Despite my ostentatiously cheerful mood, I didn't feel like laughing. The stupid jokes didn't make the problem go away, and even though I'm still confident that I can defeat both of the dead men, no one says that there's only two enemies to fight.

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 18:12

I have a suspicion that there are more than two of them nearby.

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 18:13

My high dexterity allows me not only to do industrial mountaineering without safety, but also to jump very far. I was also able to jump far enough to fall from the ceiling onto the left guard's back with all of my body weight.

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 18:13

In a perfect world.

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 18:13

Because in our cruel world, the thirtieth-level undead might well sense a threat, even if it were perfectly concealed. Sense it, and then shift a bit, putting a rusty halberd on the spot where the threat landed. So rusty, in fact, that it literally consists of rust and materialized death energy.

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 18:24

I could have ducked, but I didn't. If I duck, my opponent would shift, get ready, and attack my landing spot without delay. I will no doubt dodge the attack again, I hope. But the quick destruction of the enemy would be out of the question.

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 18:25

Instead of ducking, I fell straight to the halberd, only to twist at the very last moment so that I could get within inches of the blade, grab the shaft, and throw myself onto the chest of the somewhat confused dead man with all my weight. The undead may not know how to be surprised, but the patterns of action preserved in their heads are somewhat retarded if you do something out of them, like now, for example.

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 18:40

A second, but what second? A moment of confusion, but that's all it took for me. The obsidian goblin dagger, soaked in shadow that it resembled a shadow itself, struck precisely into the small slit on the old helmet. The eyes of the undead are not much use, of course, but there was no one to remove the unnecessary gap in the armor designed for a still-alive man.

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 18:41

A gray light flashed on a defensive skill that should not only repel the blow but also shake the man who was too close. Except that the little man had already jumped off his victim, using the same halberd as a fulcrum. The defense repelled the dagger's attack, but in doing so it released all the energy it contained, literally wrapping the undead in a cocoon of black mist. A volitional effort transformed the mist into a set of sharp blades of pure darkness, jabbing into every articulation and burning out the magic in the dead man's body.

Camrad_RIP 13.12.21 в 18:42